Expert Advice from wedding guru, Sharon Naylor

Sharon Naylor

Sharon Naylor is the author of over 35 wedding planning books and a frequent guest expert on
Get Married with Colin Cowie, Good Morning America, and other top shows.
Recently featured in such magazines as Martha Stewart Wedding, InStyle Weddings, Brides,
Modern Bride and Southern Bride, she is the iVillage Weddings expert and host of
"Here Come the Moms" at Wedding Podcast Network.

She lives in Morristown NJ with her husband Joe, and loved using Wedding Mapper for her own April '08 wedding.

ASK SHARON A QUESTION

Your Name:
Your Email:

Your Question:

Question:

i want to get married on the beach in nj. how do i go about finding my location.

Answer From Sharon:

For any beach wedding plans you have, it's always a great idea to work with a qualified, accredited wedding coordinator who knows all the best locations, and especially knows how to go through the process of getting the necessary permits to let you use that beach area. Your coordinator will also ...

Question:

Hi Sharon! My fiance and I have been together for 10 years ( we are in our early 30s). We have decided to get get married at home. We have 2 beautiful acres of property in the country. The guest list we decided to keep just our immediate family ( 18 total). If weather permits, we will have a bonf...

Answer From Sharon:

Ask the hotel if you can get free use of the hotel shuttle bus and van shuttles! Most hotels will be happy to meet your guests' needs, and you can make it easier by scheduling an early-ish pickup time for return to the hotel (such as a bit after the dessert hour,) then another run back to the hot...

Question:

Hi Sharon,
I am the Mother of the Groom planning a rehearsal dinner in July. My husband and I have our own idea of who is invited to this affair, based on 30 years ago, but today's generation of 20 somethings have a different idea! My problem is considering what the Bride and Groom want-inviti...

Answer From Sharon:

Hi Terry!
The trend of inviting all out of towners to the rehearsal dinner has actually faded out a bit now, given the economy and the expense of the wedding. While it's completely understandable that the bride and groom want to have their out of town guests' dinner provided, what's being d...

Question:

Hi Sharon, I am planning a cocktail only reception for my wedding. How do I word the invitations to let guests know that dinner will not be served (there will be a few hour break between the ceremony and reception. We plan on starting our reception at 8 pm. Thanks!

Answer From Sharon:

Great question! You have a lot of freedom on how to word this, so one idea is to say: "Cocktail Reception" and put beneath it the location and starting hour. Guests will understand that there's no dinner planned when you use that phrase.
Congratulations, and have fun!
Sharon

Question:

Hi Sharon
I am planning a wedding in december and I need a venue in East London and surroundings

Answer From Sharon:

Thanks for your note, but I'm not a wedding coordinator and can't suggest locations. But check our wedding couples here on Wedding Mapper to see if they have any locales to suggest, and of course a great wedding coordinator will be able to show you all the best places in the areas you like!

Question:

Hi Sharon, My fiance and I are getting married/eloping in September in FL. We would like ton have a small celebration when we get back, 40-50 people. Do people do brunches or luncheons? I am stuck!

Answer From Sharon:

Thanks for your question!
You can have any style of celebration you wish! There's no set style of post-celebration, so you can choose any type of party that works as your favorite style, on your budget. I like hotel brunches because they're usually quite inexpensive, offer a huge array of fo...

Question:

Hi Sharon, I was wondering how often people show up late for a wedding ceremony? I am trying to decide if we should put the ceremony start time 15 minutes earlier than the actual time on the wedding invitations. If a guest arrives late at our venue they will actually have to drive past the cere...

Answer From Sharon:

People do show up late, usually for traffic and parking reasons. They try to avoid being disruptive, but the layout of your ceremony spot sounds like this could be a problem.
I would add a note to your personal wedding website listing the guest arrival time for twenty minutes earlier than the ...

Question:

Hi Sharon.I am a big fan of lavender...could you suggest some colour combinations that would go great with it in terms of bridesmaids dresses and decor. Edith

Answer From Sharon:

Hi Edith:
Lavender is so in right now! I'm seeing bunches of different shades of purple, from lilac to deep eggplant, that are really flattering to most skin tones, and I'm also seeing really deep, rich purple shades in table linens -- and a perk to going with a dark purple shade for your tabl...

Question:

How long do need to be in portugal for to be allowed to get married

Answer From Sharon:

A great wedding coordinator with experience in that region of the country will be able to tell you about the rules and requirements for marriage licenses overseas. Coordinators know which government agencies to contact for the current rules. Never take info off of a website, or you could make a b...